Kaçkavall

Ingredients

Milk and culture

• 10 litresraw or gently pasteurised sheep milk, or full-fat cow milk
• ¼ tspmesophilic starter culture, or 200 ml live kos yoghurt
• ½ tspvegetarian microbial rennet, diluted in 50 ml cool unchlorinated water
• ½ tspcalcium chloride, if the milk is pasteurised

Scalding and brine

• 5 litreswater at 75°C (165°F), for stretching
• brine: 1 litre water with 200 g coarse salt, chilled

Equipment

• a curd knife or long blade, a thermometer, a pH strip set or meter, a 1 kg mould or lined basket

Directions

1. Warm the milk to 32°C (90°F), stir in the starter and hold 45 minutes to ripen; the milk should smell faintly yoghurty and drop to around pH 6.5.
2. Stir in the diluted rennet for 1 minute, still the milk and leave undisturbed 40 minutes, until it gives a clean break, splitting sharply over a finger with clear whey in the crack.
3. Cut the curd to 1 cm cubes, rest 5 minutes, then stir gently while raising the temperature to 42°C (110°F) over 30 minutes, until the grains firm to the bounce of a rubber eraser.
4. Drain off the whey, saving it for gjizë, and let the curd mass knit together under its own weight for 30 minutes.
5. Ripen the slab at 30 to 34°C (95°F), turning it every hour for 12 to 16 hours, until it reaches pH 5.1 to 5.3. Test a sliver in 75°C (165°F) water: it is ready when it stretches into a shiny rope without tearing.
6. Slice the ripened curd into 1 cm strips, drop into the 75°C (165°F) water and work it with two wooden spoons for 5 to 8 minutes until it becomes one smooth, glossy, elastic mass.
7. Stretch and fold it three or four times, then tuck the edges under to make a taut ball, press into the mould and cool in cold water for 1 hour.
8. Float the wheel in the chilled brine for 12 hours per kilo, then dry it for two days and age at 12 to 14°C (55°F) and 85 percent humidity for 2 to 3 months, wiping any mould off weekly with a brine-damp cloth.

Technique

• Kaçkavall is a pasta filata cheese, made by the same acid-then-stretch route as caciocavallo and kashkaval. The ripening step to pH 5.2 is what makes the curd stretch; go too far, past pH 5.0, and it turns to grainy porridge in the hot water.
• Traditional dairies set the milk with animal rennet from a young animal. Microbial rennet gives an identical set and keeps the cheese vegetarian.
• Sheep milk gives the sharper, richer Sharri and Korça style; cow milk gives the mild yellow supermarket kind. Raw milk cheeses need the full three months of ageing for safety.

Substitutions

• No mesophilic starter: 200 ml of live kos does the same job, though ripening takes an hour or two longer and is less predictable.
• A large stainless bowl of 75°C (165°F) water and rubber gloves replaces a proper stretching vat perfectly well at this scale.

Variations

• Kaçkavall i Sharrit, from the Sharr mountains, is made from sheep milk and aged longer for a piquant, crumbly wheel.
• Young kaçkavall of three to four weeks is sliced and pan-fried until it blisters, served with lemon.

History

The Balkan stretched-curd cheese related to Italian caciocavallo; Albanian versions come mostly from the sheep pastures of the south.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kaçkavall?

Kaçkavall is a cheese & dairy from Albania: firm yellow sheep or cow cheese, sliced, grilled or grated. The Balkan stretched-curd cheese related to Italian caciocavallo; Albanian versions come mostly from the sheep pastures of the south.

How long does Kaçkavall take to make?

Kaçkavall takes 1 hr 30 min of preparation and 16 hr ripening plus 2 to 3 months ageing of cooking. The recipe makes about 1 kg cheese. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kaçkavall?

Yes, within limits. No mesophilic starter: 200 ml of live kos does the same job, though ripening takes an hour or two longer and is less predictable. A large stainless bowl of 75°C (165°F) water and rubber gloves replaces a proper stretching vat perfectly well at this scale.